


A Daughter Knows Best

by adorbstiel



Series: The Study Of Us [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Claire is Dean’s daughter in this fic, Cute Castiel, Cute Dean, Except Claire’s last name isn’t Novak in this fic, First Dates, Fluff, I promise it’s good pls read it, It’s Winchester, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trust me it’s cute, cas is pretty, cuteness, gratuitous fluff, reconnection, that has nothing to do with the fic but it’s true, there will be more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 04:39:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13023402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adorbstiel/pseuds/adorbstiel
Summary: Dean and Cas grew up together, and were going to go to college together. But Dean didn’t get into his first choice school in New York like Cas did. They had to part ways.Now, after years of life being in the way, and becoming a father, Dean moves back to his hometown, and reconnects with an old friend. (Spoiler: it’s Castiel.)What follows is cute and fluffy.





	A Daughter Knows Best

**Author's Note:**

> This fic started out with my friend haNNah (@maraudersmisha on twitter {follow her! She’s amazing! :D}) throwing fluffy ideas at each other in order to cause the other pain. It turned into This. If the writing style may appear to change in certain paragraphs, that’s because I took paragraphs from both of us and smooshed them together. I think it’s pretty cohesive, though. I hope you do, too! I really love this, and I want you all to enjoy and/or be tormented in the fluff like we are. Constantly. 
> 
> Comments and kudos sustain me, and constructive criticism is appreciated. 
> 
> Not beta read but by the both of us, and we were sobbing incoherently as we wrote it, so any mistakes are ultimately mine, oops. Let me know if you find any and I can change it. 
> 
> Also, this was put together on my phone, so it isn’t as pretty as I’d like it to be. 
> 
> // are texts incoming, and \\\ are texts outgoing. 
> 
> Enjoy!! :D

Dean was Cas’s best friend when they were kids. They were inseparable all the way through high school.

Now, Cas definitely did not have a huge crush on Dean, if anyone were to ask. Which, thankfully, no one ever did. But it turned out that it didn’t matter anyway, because Dean got accepted to his second choice school, in Texas. Cas’s school was in New York. 

They tried to keep in touch but it was increasingly more difficult. Not that they wanted to lose touch, but schoolwork piled up and it was just too hard. Life happened. 

A couple years after Dean graduated, he decided to move back to Massachusetts. He wanted to both to be closer to his brother Sam and his mom, and because a woman he’d been with briefly, Amelia, contacted him to say she was pregnant. Dean was scared but excited to be a father, but Amelia, not so much. She had said she wasn’t ready to care for a child, so Dean did what Dean does; assume responsibility. 

When Claire was born, he loved her immediately and fiercely. He’s never looked back.

Being a single dad hasn’t been the easiest thing Dean has ever done, but it isn’t the hardest, either. He makes sure to go to all of Claire’s school functions. He supports her and does everything he can to make her childhood perfect. He doesn’t want her to feel like she’s missed out on anything, or like she’s short a parent. He goes to all the open houses the school holds because he wants to get to know Claire’s teachers as well. He wants them to know he wants to be involved. 

 

Claire is a freshman now, so of course Dean goes to the first open house that’s scheduled. New school, new teachers. 

Dean doesn’t make the connection between Mr. Novak, Claire’s anthropology teacher, and Castiel Novak, his best friend from back home, until ‘Wow, that guy looks familiar... holy shit! Is that...?’ Dean looks around for a kid with dark brown hair or piercing blue eyes that’s surely to be around, because if Cas is here then he must have a kid here too. 

Cas walks up to Dean because he sees Claire with him, and says, “Dean?”

“Well, I’ll be damned, I thought that was you! Hey Cas!”

Cas’s face softens into a smile. “Hello, Dean.”

Claire looks between the two of them. “You know each other?”

Dean ignores her, but not on purpose. “Nice to see you.” Theres a beat of silence where Dean just stares at his old friend. “This is Claire, my daughter.”

“I know.”

“Where’s you- You know?”

“I’m her teacher, Dean.”

-

Claire is greatly displeased because her father definitely gave his number to her teacher that day. (“We were friends, Claire.” “Sure, Dad. Whatever.”) 

-

Dean and Cas text way too much. Probably more than anyone over 17 ever should, but not everyone needs to know that. And if they wind up hanging out occasionally after Dean brings Claire home from school, no one really needs to know that, either. Especially if one of those times turns into, “Hey, so... do you wanna grab some dinner, Cas? Nothing fancy, just to catch up. It’s been what, 15 years?”

“Of course, Dean. I would love that.”

-

It’s totally not a date. Totally. Except they talk for hours and hours and hours, and the burger joint they went to is starting to close up around them. It’s really late, but they don’t notice. 

After they finally leave, Dean and Cas just start aimlessly walking around town, talking the whole night away. Claire’s at a sleepover, so Dean’s not worried about her being alone or worried. Which is good, because he realizes the sky is getting a little lighter. They’ve stayed out all night. Huh. 

-

Dean picks up Claire in the exact same outfit as the night before, because its now 9 am and he hasn’t taken the time to change. He went home and napped for a couple of hours before having to pick her up. Claire notices. 

“So,” She starts, “late night?”

Dean ignores her question. “You want waffles? Let’s make waffles.”

“Is Mr. Novak included with these waffles?”

“Um. No? N- no. What? Shut up.”

“Love you too, Dad.” She says. She tries again. “So. Are you and Mr. N. like... dating now?”

“Waffles? Waffles.”

Claire sighs and lets it go. For now. 

She knows though, and she knows she can eventually wheedle it out of her dad that he’s Interested in Mr. Novak. She also does extensive research to back up her theory at school, and finds out that Mr. Novak may be in the same boat as her dad. 

-

Claire’s extensive research went something like this: “Hey, Mr. N. Do you like my dad?”

Cas balks at the bold question. “I mean y- well we’re friends, so, cause... why-?”

“Great. That’s all I needed. Thanks, Mr. N.”

Cas is left in his office, confused. 

-

Claire implements her findings by coming home that day and saying, “Mr. Novak likes you.”

Dean chokes on his eggroll. “Wh- what? What do you mean? I mean, why-“

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

“Well what’d he... how. What did he say? Why were you even talking about me?”

“I asked.” Claire replied. “I asked if he liked you, and he blushed and stammered which is unusual for him, so...”

Dean can’t find any words to answer with, so he doesn’t. 

“Well?”

“W- well?” Dean manages. 

“What are you gonna do about it?” Claire prompts. 

“What do you mean what am I gonna do?”

“Are you going to ask him out?”

“Claire,” Dean starts with a sigh, “it’s not that simple.”

“Of course it is. Why not? You like each other.”

“According to you, and you’re 14.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“It’s not supposed to mean anything. It’s just more complicated than you’re making it seem. There’s more eggrolls. You want some?”

Claire knows there’s probably more to that, but she concedes. Not for long. 

Dean leaves for the kitchen and Claire steals his phone to text Cas. She doesn’t pretend to be Dean she just says that he makes her dad happy and that Dean likes him too. 

/Would your father really appreciate you texting from his phone?/

\He’ll thank me later.\

Claire deletes the messages cause otherwise Dean would know she was being sweet, but Cas isn’t done texting because he still has questions. 

/What do you mean, ‘likes me’?/

\ur gonna make me say this rnt u\

/I know for a fact you’ve taken multiple English classes./

\Ugh. Ok, I know when he’s texting you bc he’s smiling at his phone. I know when you’ve had long phone conversations bc he’s a little happier in the mornings when he brings me to school. He talks about you over dinner and, oh yeah. I told him you liked him and he was just as flustered as when I asked you if you did.\

\Also I’m not blind.\

Before Cas finishes typing his response, Claire sends,  
\he’s coming back. I’m putting the phone down and erasing these. He likes you too, mr N.\

And Cas is left with butterflies in his stomach, biting his nails, and wondering what to do now. Naturally, Cas panics and calls Dean. 

Dean had been back, sitting with Claire watching sports (reality tv) when his phone rings, and Cas’s name pops up.

“Oh. Uh. Ca-Mr Novak is callin-“

“Something tells me you should answer.”

“What did you do.”

Claire shrugs, feigning innocence. “Nothing at all.”

Dean gets up, walking to the kitchen before answering. His voice is hesitant, quiet. “Hey, Cas. What’s up?”

There’s silence on the other end. Dean can hear Cas take a breath before clearly throwing whatever he was going to say out the window. “Dean. I think we need to talk.”

“Did Claire say something? Claire said something. She’s being weirder than normal.”

“We were talking actually.”

“We? You and me or you and Claire? When?”

“She had your phone. But th-“

Dean’s pacing now. “She took my phone? Why?”

Cas’s voice is calming, as it always is. He’s managing to calm Dean down, while sounding stressed. “She... seems to think that...” He stops. He doesn’t know how to phrase this. He’s an adult, a grown man. He should know how to tell Dean that he’s loved him since they were kids, that Dean’s laugh lights up the room and gets his stomach in knots. That he’d give anything to hold his hand, to hold him, to be with him. 

“What does she think, Cas? You’re scaring me.”

Dean fills the silence where Cas couldn’t.  
Come on now, Cas has a way with words. His own way. Far off metaphors and an off-beat understanding of slang, sure, but he can get his feelings across. Can’t he? “I like.. spending time with you. Quite a lot.. and. I would like, if you don’t mind of course, to maybe take you out? On, a date? I understand if you don’t want that. I just. I can’t help but think I might be f-..”

“Yeah.”

Cas is startled by the interruption, slightly louder than Dean’s been speaking thus far. He can’t tell if it sounds dismissive or not. “Y-...yeah? As in yeah you’d like to, or yeah you’d like to but?”

Dean is silent for a beat, then “Yeah. I’d like to.”

-

Their date was cheap and weird (food truck tour) but it was filled with laughter and photographs and memories, old and new. 

It’s a cold Friday night in early December. Claire is at her friend Alex’s and there’s no school (so no work) tomorrow so they stay out late. 

After their food truck dinner, they made their way to the park near Cas’s house. They’re laying on the ground still inside the snow angels they’ve made; fingers gently interlaced through their gloves. They’re laughing and breathless and smiling like there’s no tomorrow, when Cas sighs and says, “I missed you, Dean.”

Dean looks over at Cas and says, “We saw each other two days ago, Cas.”

“No, Dean. I meant... after you moved. For college. I missed you so much but, school, and we just...” He lets the sentence die out.  
“I’m sorry, Cas. I didn’t know. I’d have tried harder to keep in touch if-”

“No it’s okay, Dean. I didn’t mean... I’m just glad we’re here now.”

“Yeah.” Dean smiles. His eyes are twinkling and Cas wants them to look that bright and alive, always. “Me too.”

-

It’s closing in on 4 am by now, so they decide to make their way back to their homes. It was cold but not too cold, and their date required walking so they parked their cars together, at the other end of the park. They walk in a comfortable silence, hands still linked. Cas is cold but he doesn’t let on. He wants Dean to keep his jacket as long as he can. He knows they have to part soon, but he doesn’t want to. 

They get to Dean’s car first. “Well, this is my stop.” Dean jokes. He wants to leave even less than Cas does. 

“It appears so.”

“Cas, listen. This was...” Dean searches for the right word, “it was great.” He winces. Lame. “I uh...”

“I had fun tonight, Dean. Im glad you did, too.”

“I really did. I can’t wait to do this again.” The snow starts to fall in thick flakes again. “Maybe I can wait for it to be a little warmer.”

“We could just dress more appropriately next time.” Cas says it with a smile. After a short pause, he says, “Of course you’re going to text me when you make it home safe?”

Dean chuckles. “Yes, Mr. Novak.”

“Do not say that again.”

Dean blushes, then, but says nothing.  
Cas looks like he wants to kiss Dean Goodnight, and Dean would love nothing more, but he’s not sure that’s something they can do, yet. Cas is his daughter’s teacher, after all. 

As Dean is thinking, Cas starts to lean in. Dean’s thinking of how he can say they need to talk about things first when Cas averts his lips to Dean’s cheek. It’s soft, but firm. Definitely there, but not pressing, about midway up Dean’s cheekbone. It lingers for a beat or two when Cas pulls back, and looks deep into Dean’s eyes. “Goodnight, Dean.”  
Dean’s sure his face looks dopey and maybe the slightest bit awestruck, but he manages to say, 

“Yeah. Um, I mean. Yeah,” Dean huffs a laugh at himself. He doesn’t remember it being like this with Cas when they were younger. “Goodnight, Castiel.” 

Dean turns to get into his car and leaves Cas standing there with his heart racing. Dean hasn’t used his full name since they’ve reconnected but maybe twice, until now. Cas decides he likes it. And he likes Dean.

-

Cas is walking up the stairs to his house when the phone in his pocket buzzes quietly. He waits until he reaches the top of the stairs before fishing it out along with his keys. 

/Home safe. Are you?/

\Good. Just got in.\ Cas starts to type something else, still standing with the key in the lock, door unopened. His thumbs dance above his phone screen before he erases the few letters he started with.

His phone buzzes again. /Good./ He shouldn’t be smiling as hard as he is at a four letter word. 

His thumbs dance again. \Good night, Dean. Sleep well. Thank you for tonight.\

-

Dean’s home now, the house quiet and still. Claire isn’t home so he doesn’t have to worry about keeping the lights off or anything similar. He’d swear to you or anyone else that he could still feel Cas’s hand in his. He doesn’t notice he’s still wearing Castiel’s jacket until his shoes are already off. His phone buzzes.

/Good night, Dean. Sleep well. Thank you for tonight./

Dean’s laugh is quiet and short and comes out like a breath. Cas thanked him like he did anything special. Cas was the one who made this evening what it was. Despite all the talking they did tonight, he still had so much to say.

\Night, Cas. Sleep tight. Any time. Do it again soon?\

/Just say when. We’ll dress appropriately, this time./

\I’ll keep your jacket safe until then.\


End file.
